The CSOS - I have applied, now what?

21 August 2020 | Nicole Tavares

The Community Schemes Ombud Service (“the CSOS”) was established under the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act (“the CSOSA”) in 2011, and they officially opened their doors in October 2016 when the legislation was promulgated.

One of the main objectives of the CSOS is to assist the parties to a dispute in resolving their differences which is done by way of an application for dispute resolution. This article will take you through the steps of the dispute resolution process at the CSOS, and set out what can be expected once your application has been submitted.

The process begins when you, as the Applicant, being an owner, tenant, trustee/s, director and/or the managing agent completes the prescribed 3 page application for dispute resolution form, which can be found on the CSOS’ website. Once the form has been completed, the Applicant will submit it, along with any relevant documents to the CSOS via email to the relevant CSOS office, either GP, KZN or WP.

As part of the intake process, the CSOS will review your application and decide whether it is a dispute that they can take on in terms of the Orders it is permitted to grant. If yes, the Applicant will then be required to pay the minimal application fee of R50.00, no matter the size of your community scheme or the nature of your matter.

After the Applicant’s payment has been received, the application is then sent by the CSOS to the person against which the application is made, known as the Respondent, to allow them an opportunity to respond, the average allowed time for the CSOS to receive the response is 7 days.

The Respondent's response is then sent to the Applicant, via email, allowing you to reply to any allegation made by the Respondent, again on a timeline of approximately 7 days. After which the Applicant’s reply is sent to the Respondent, but this time only for their information, this time with no opportunity to respond.

This is when your matter will be referred to a CSOS employed Conciliator. The Conciliator will then send a notice advising the Applicant and the Respondent of a date and time for a teleconference to conciliate, which is strictly limited to 1 hour. During this time of COVID, all conciliations are being held over teleconference and parties are not given the opportunity to reschedule the date given by the Conciliator, without a valid reason.

The conciliation is a process of back and forth, as the Applicant will have an opportunity to state their case, this is followed by the Respondent being afforded the opportunity to respond to what the Applicant raised. The Applicant then responds, and the Respondent then replies. The Conciliator will then ask the Applicant if you believe that the matter has, or can be resolved, by entering into a settlement agreement. Keeping in mind that the Conciliator cannot force a settlement agreement, provide advice and cannot make an Order. In the event that no settlement is reached, the CSOS will issue a notice of non-resolution and referral of the matter to adjudication. The Applicant will have 14 days to confirm whether they wish to proceed with adjudication. Once the confirmation has been received, the CSOS will request that the Applicant pay a further fee of R100.00.

As the Applicant you must ensure that you receive a list of the Adjudicators, which will allow you the opportunity to select a specific Adjudicator to hear your matter. The Respondent will then have an opportunity to agree to your selection, or reject and elect an Adjudicator of their choosing. Should the Applicant not agree to the Respondent’s selection of Adjudicator, the Ombud will choose the Adjudicator.

Once the Adjudicator has been decided, the CSOS will arrange a date for adjudication, normally done face to face however, during lockdown this has been done via the submission of written arguments from both parties. Following submission of the relevant written arguments, the Adjudicator will decide whether there is a need for further information, and request that the CSOS’ investigator assist, or whether an Order can be made.

If an Order can be made, the Adjudicator will prepare one, and submit it to CSOS who will then capture the Order and submit it to the Applicant and Respondent. This Order is final and binding on the parties involved, and can be appealed, but only on an error of law, and not if you simply do not agree with the decision made by the Adjudicator or the process followed. As a separate process, the Order can be made an Order of Court.

I hope that this article sheds some light on how your application is dealt with from the time you click send on your email addressed to the CSOS to the conclusion of the dispute resolution process. Do you, or your scheme, have a dispute that you would like assistance with, Please contact us at info@tvdmconsultants.com or 061 536 3138.